题目
So there you are on the phone, you ask a question, and suddenly there's silence． What is this, the phone's gone dead, the person you're talking to is dead? Possibly． But there could be another reason — the other person could be Finnish, or Japanese．According to a handy new booklet from British Telecom (BT) for business people, in countries such as Britain and Italy "conversation is a form of entertainment． There is a continuous flow of talk．．．"． But in other countries especially Finland and Japan, "it is not only impolite to break in, but listeners will think over what has been said in silence"．It also points out that English, when spoken by foreigners, is likely to include plenty of "false friends", where word-for-word translation fails． If a Frenchman says something is "interesting", he probably means it's profitable．If he "demands" something, he's actually just asking． If an American says your proposal is "quite good", you should be pleased, because "quite" means "very"． But if he tells you to "table" a proposal, then things are not good at all． Whereas an English person would understand tabling a proposal as putting an idea forward, to an American it means shelves it．According to the booklet, British people are not "explicit" like the Americans, the Dutch, the Germans or the French． "If a Dutchman says an idea is interesting, he means that it is interesting． If an Englishman says it is interesting, you have to deduce (推论) from the way he says it whether he means it is a good or a bad idea．"The Japanese, the Russians and the Arabs on the other hand, live in the land of true dioplomatic subtlety(微妙)．"If they say an idea is interesting, it may simply be out of politeness"．It is safest to stick with plain speaking whenever possible, BT advises its British readers． And whatever you do, be careful to limit the use of the famous British sense of humor．【小题1】When someone says that an idea is interesting, who don't really mean it?A.The Dutch．B.The French．C.The British．D.The Japanese．【小题2】While speaking in English, a foreigner seems .A.to use the words "false friends" quite oftenB.to have a strong foreign accentC.to have difficulty in expressing himself clearlyD.to keep on forgetting English words【小题3】We may learn from the passage that the best thing to do while talking to others, especially to foreigners, is to . A.speak as a diplomatB.be fully aware of culture differenceC.speak with a sense of humorD.avoid being somewhat entertaining
So there you are on the phone, you ask a question, and suddenly there's silence． What is this, the phone's gone dead, the person you're talking to is dead? Possibly． But there could be another reason — the other person could be Finnish, or Japanese．
According to a handy new booklet from British Telecom (BT) for business people, in countries such as Britain and Italy "conversation is a form of entertainment． There is a continuous flow of talk．．．"． But in other countries especially Finland and Japan, "it is not only impolite to break in, but listeners will think over what has been said in silence"．
It also points out that English, when spoken by foreigners, is likely to include plenty of "false friends", where word-for-word translation fails． If a Frenchman says something is "interesting", he probably means it's profitable．If he "demands" something, he's actually just asking． If an American says your proposal is "quite good", you should be pleased, because "quite" means "very"． But if he tells you to "table" a proposal, then things are not good at all． Whereas an English person would understand tabling a proposal as putting an idea forward, to an American it means shelves it．
According to the booklet, British people are not "explicit" like the Americans, the Dutch, the Germans or the French． "If a Dutchman says an idea is interesting, he means that it is interesting． If an Englishman says it is interesting, you have to deduce (推论) from the way he says it whether he means it is a good or a bad idea．"
The Japanese, the Russians and the Arabs on the other hand, live in the land of true dioplomatic subtlety(微妙)．"If they say an idea is interesting, it may simply be out of politeness"．
It is safest to stick with plain speaking whenever possible, BT advises its British readers． And whatever you do, be careful to limit the use of the famous British sense of humor．
【小题1】When someone says that an idea is interesting, who don't really mean it?
According to a handy new booklet from British Telecom (BT) for business people, in countries such as Britain and Italy "conversation is a form of entertainment． There is a continuous flow of talk．．．"． But in other countries especially Finland and Japan, "it is not only impolite to break in, but listeners will think over what has been said in silence"．
It also points out that English, when spoken by foreigners, is likely to include plenty of "false friends", where word-for-word translation fails． If a Frenchman says something is "interesting", he probably means it's profitable．If he "demands" something, he's actually just asking． If an American says your proposal is "quite good", you should be pleased, because "quite" means "very"． But if he tells you to "table" a proposal, then things are not good at all． Whereas an English person would understand tabling a proposal as putting an idea forward, to an American it means shelves it．
According to the booklet, British people are not "explicit" like the Americans, the Dutch, the Germans or the French． "If a Dutchman says an idea is interesting, he means that it is interesting． If an Englishman says it is interesting, you have to deduce (推论) from the way he says it whether he means it is a good or a bad idea．"
The Japanese, the Russians and the Arabs on the other hand, live in the land of true dioplomatic subtlety(微妙)．"If they say an idea is interesting, it may simply be out of politeness"．
It is safest to stick with plain speaking whenever possible, BT advises its British readers． And whatever you do, be careful to limit the use of the famous British sense of humor．
【小题1】When someone says that an idea is interesting, who don't really mean it?
- The Dutch．
- The French．
- The British．
- The Japanese．
- to use the words "false friends" quite often
- to have a strong foreign accent
- to have difficulty in expressing himself clearly
- to keep on forgetting English words
- speak as a diplomat
- be fully aware of culture difference
- speak with a sense of humor
- avoid being somewhat entertaining
题目解答
答案
【文章大意】本文讨论了不同国家语言方面的差异，比如打电话时对方没说话，这种情况下不同国家有不同的含义，以及谈论了一些其他情况下语言差异情况等，告诉我们交流时要意识到文化差异。
1【答案】B
【解析】题干意思，当什么人说一个想法很有趣时,但他并不是那个意思，根据文章“ If a Frenchman says something is "interesting", he probably means it's profitable．(如果一个法国人说某件事“有趣”，他可能是指这件事有利可图。)”，结合选项，A荷兰；B法国；C英国人；D日本人，因此本题选B。
2【答案】C
【解析】题干意思，当一个外国人说英语时，可能怎么样，根据文章“It also points out that English, when spoken by foreigners, is likely to include plenty of "false friends", where word-for-word translation fails.(它还指出，当外国人说英语时，很可能会有大量的“假朋友”，而逐字翻译是行不通的。)”结合选项，A经常使用“假朋友”这个词；B有很重的外国口音；C难以清楚地表达自己的意思；D继续忘记英语单词，因此本题选择C。
3【答案】B
【解析】题干意思，我们可以从文章中学习到与他人交谈,尤其是外国人，最好的办法是什么，根据文章“It is safest to stick with plain speaking whenever possible, BT advises its British readers． And whatever you do, be careful to limit the use of the famous British sense of humor．(英国电信建议英国读者，只要有可能，最安全的做法就是尽量保持平实的语言。无论你做什么，都要注意英式幽默的使用限制。)”，结合选项，A以外交官的身份讲话；B充分意识到文化差异；C说话要有幽默感；D避免太过有趣因此本题选B。